The field of candidates for Allentown City Council continues
to expand with the addition of at least three more candidates.

Council Vice President Ray O’Connell confirmed
Wednesday night that he will be seeking another term on the board. O’Connell, a
former Allentown School District administrator, was elected to council in 2009.

In addition to his experience as an educator, O’Connell has
been a member of the Allentown Recreation Commission for 20 years, a member of
the Allentown Human Relations Commission for two years and served on the Big
Brothers/Big Sisters board of directors for several years.

If re-elected, O'Connell said his priorities would be public safety, particularly around the city's proposed arena, and economic development. If the arena development can do half of what the Iron Pigs have done for Allentown, the city will be in a much better place, he said.

"Allentown is really moving forward," he said. "It's never going to be like it was years ago, like everyone remembers, but hopefully it's on the cusp of coming back to respectability."

Also throwing his hat into the ring is challenger Ken
Heffentrager, vice president of the Tenant Association of Allentown.
Heffentrager, a center city resident, applied for several vacancies on council
last year,
but was not selected.

If elected, Heffentrager said he would advocate for renters’
rights and introduce legislation to reduce the rental inspection cycle from
every five years to every three years. Officials should also look at building a
skate park to give city children something productive to do, he said.

"As I see it, the pension, jobs, drug activity and quality of life issues such as slumlords and blight are what the city needs to focus on the most," Heffentrager said.

Also vying for a seat on council will be incumbent Joe
Davis. Davis, the long-time east side advocate who replaced Councilman Frank Concannon on council, will run for a
shorter term because Concannon resigned
in the first half of his term. Davis recently registered a fundraising
committee with the Lehigh County Office of Elections and Voter Registration.

Five seats on Allentown council will be up for re-election in 2013. Council President Julio Guridy, Councilwoman Cynthia Mota and Councilman Jeff Glazier have also announced bids for the office.